Definitive evidence of how zeolites grow: Tracking crystal growth in real time

Researchers have found the first definitive evidence of how silicalite-1 (MFI type) zeolites grow, showing that growth is a concerted process involving both the attachment of nanoparticles and the addition of molecules.

Both processes appear to happen simultaneously, said Jeffrey Rimer, an engineering professor at the University of Houston and lead author of a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.

He said a second component to the research could have even more lasting impact. He and researcher Alexandra I. Lupulescu used a new technique allowing them to view zeolite surface growth in real time, a breakthrough Rimer said can be applied to other types of materials, as well.

Rimer and Lupulescu found that both classical and nonclassical growth models were at work.

"We have shown that a complex set of dynamics takes place," Rimer said. "In doing so, we have revealed that there are multiple pathways in the growth mechanism, which solves a problem that has been debated for nearly 25 years."

It solves a mystery in the world of crystalengineering, but how they did it may have a more lasting impact. Rimer and Lupulescu, who did the project as part of her dissertation, earning her Ph.D. in chemicalengineering from UH's Cullen College of Engineering in December, worked with California-based Asylum Research. They used time-resolved Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to record topographical images of silicalite-1 surfaces as they grew.

AFM provides near molecular-resolution 3-D images of the crystal surface. Rimer said the technology, along with software developed by Asylum Research and his lab, made it possible to study the growth in situ, or in place. While his lab works at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius, the instrumentation can handle temperatures as high as 300 C, making it possible to use it for a number of materials that grow in solvothermal conditions, he said.

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